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Backlash (2007)
Backlash (2007) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which took place on April 29, 2007, at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Following WrestleMania, all pay-per-views became tri-branded. It was the ninth annual event under the Backlash name and starred talent from Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW. The main match on the Raw brand was a fatal four-way match for the WWE Championship involving champion John Cena, Randy Orton, Edge, and Shawn Michaels. Cena won the match and retained the championship after pinning Orton. The primary match on the SmackDown! brand was a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship between The Undertaker and Batista, which ended in a no-contest after both men failed get to their feet before the referee counted to ten. The featured match on the ECW brand was Bobby Lashley versus Team McMahon (Umaga, Vince and Shane McMahon) in a handicap match for the ECW World Championship. Vince won the title and the match for his team after pinning Lashley. Storylines The main event scripted into Backlash on the Raw brand was a fatal four-way match for the WWE Championship, a standard match involving four wrestlers between John Cena, Edge, Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton. At the Royal Rumble in January, Michaels was one of the final two participants in the Royal Rumble match before being eliminated by The Undertaker. On the February 5, 2007 episode of Raw, Michaels earned the right to become the number-one contender for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania after defeating Orton and Edge in a triple threat match. At WrestleMania, Cena defeated Michaels to retain the WWE Championship after forcing Michaels to submit to the STFU. On the April 9 episode of Raw, a number one contender's match between Michaels and Orton for the WWE Championship ended in a no contest after both men's shoulders were on the mat while they were pinning one another. Later that night, during Edge's talk show, "The Cutting Edge", Edge claimed that General Manager Jonathan Coachman had named him the number-one contender to the WWE title. Honorary General Manager Michael Pena, from the Make-a-Wish Foundation, however, announced that Michaels, Orton, and Edge would face Cena for the title at Backlash in a fatal four-way match. Another rivalry leading up to the event was between The Undertaker and Batista over the World Heavyweight Championship. At the Royal Rumble in January, The Undertaker won the 2007 Royal Rumble match. As a result, he was given the right to a world title match at WrestleMania for any of WWE's three major championships (ECW World, World Heavyweight, or WWE). On the February 5 episode of Raw, Undertaker teased all three World Champions (Bobby Lashley, Batista, and John Cena) before choosing World Heavyweight Champion Batista as his opponent to face at WrestleMania 23. At WrestleMania, The Undertaker defeated Batista to win the World Heavyweight Championship to extend his WrestleMania undefeated streak to 15-0. Their rivalry, however, did not end, as General Manager Theodore Long booked a Last Man Standing match between The Undertaker and Batista at Backlash. The main rivalry on the ECW brand was between Bobby Lashley and Team McMahon (Umaga, Vince and Shane McMahon), in which Lashley and Vince were feuding over the ECW World Championship. The rivalry started on the February 26 episode of Raw, when Lashley was selected by Donald Trump to compete at WrestleMania 23. Lashley was selected to compete against Vince's representative, Umaga, in Hair vs. Hair match, a match in which the loser or the loser's representative would have to get his head shaved bald. At WrestleMania, Lashley defeated Umaga, and after the match, Trump and Lashley shaved Vince's head bald. On the April 9 episode of Raw, Shane challenged Lashley to a Hair vs. Title match for the ECW World Championship. Shane got himself intentionally disqualified, but did not get his head shaved. After the match, Umaga and Vince and Shane attacked Lashley. After the beating, Vince announced that Lashley would have to defend the ECW World Championship against Team McMahon at Backlash in a three-on-one handicap match. Aftermath Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch continued their rivalry with The Hardys until the two teams had a rematch at Judgment Day for the World Tag Team Championship, which The Hardys won. Chris Benoit and Montel Vontavious Porter also continued their rivalry for the WWE United States Championship, which led to a best 2 out of 3 falls match at Judgment Day, which Porter won. On the May 11 episode of SmackDown!, The Undertaker defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Batista in a Steel cage match, a match fought within a cage formed by placing four sheets of mesh metal around, in, or against the edges of a wrestling ring. Both men escaped the steel cage at the same time, and The Undertaker was therefore declared still the champion. After the match, Mark Henry returned and attacked The Undertaker. Edge, who was scripted to beat Mr. Kennedy on the May 7 episode of Raw to win the Money in the Bank contract, cashed in his opportunity and defeated The Undertaker to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Team McMahon's feud with Bobby Lashley continued as Mr. McMahon gave Lashley a rematch at Judgment Day, which was another three-on-one Handicap match for the ECW World Championship. At Judgment Day, Lashley won the match, but Vince said that Lashley had not beaten him, as Lashley had pinned Shane instead, so Lashley was not awarded the belt. The rivalry continued until One Night Stand, where Lashley challenged Vince to a match where there is no disqualifications or countouts, dubbed a Street Fight. Lashley won the match and the ECW World Championship, and their rivalry ended. Results Other on-screen personnel See also * List of WWE pay-per-view events * Backlash Category:Backlash Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events Category:2007 Pay-Per-View Events